Domestic medicine, or, A treatise on the prevention and cure of diseases by regimen and simple medicines : with an appendix, containing a dispensatory for the use of private practitioners / by William Buchan.

  • Buchan, William, 1729-1805.
Date:
1803
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Domestic medicine, or, A treatise on the prevention and cure of diseases by regimen and simple medicines : with an appendix, containing a dispensatory for the use of private practitioners / by William Buchan. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by King’s College London. The original may be consulted at King’s College London.

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    A child is generally laid to fleep with all its clothes on ; and if a number of others are heaped above them, it mu ft be overheated ; by which means it cannot fail to catch cold on being taken out of the cradle, and ex- pofcd to the open air with only its ufual clothing, which is too frequently the cafe. Children who are kept within doors all day, and fleep all night in warm dole apartments, may, with great propriety, be compared to plants, nurfed in a hot-houfe, inflead of the open air. Though fuch plants may by this means be kept alive for fume time, they will never ar- rive at that degree of (trength, vigour, and magnitude, which they would have acquired in the open air, nor would they be able to bear it afterwards, Ihould they be txpofed to ir. Children brought up in the country, vvho have been accuftomed to open air, fhould not be too early fent to great towns, where it is confined and unwholefome. This is frequently done with a view to forward their education, but proves very hurtful to their health. All fchools and feminaries of learning ought, if poftible, to be lb fituated as to have frefh, dry, wholefome air, and Ihould never be too much crowded. Without entering into a detail of the particular ad- vantages of wholefome air to children, or of the bad confequences which proceed from the want of it, I fhall only obferve, that of ftveral thoufands of children which have been under my care, I do not remember one inftance of a fingle child who continued healthy in a dole confined fituation ; but have often known the melt obftinate difeafes cured by removing them from fuch a fituation to an open free air. Of Nurjes. It is not here intended to lay down rules for the choice of nurfes. This would be wafting time. Com- I was very lately called to fee an Infant which was faid to be expiring in Convulfion fits. I defired the mother to ftrip the child, and wrap it in a loofc covering. It had no more convulfion fits. mon